"The being of
human beings
is a
mechanism,
the end of which, the purpose, the design function of which is
survival. You see now, you can't
hear
it because you know it's going to
work
out. You're just sure it's going to
work
out. It isn't going to
work
out. Really! It is not going to
work
out. This is all there is. This, this what you got, is what
there is - never
mind
the
fairy
tale.
This is it!
It is not going to
work
out because it has already
worked
out! This is
the way
it
worked
out. You don't like that? Too bad ..."
You could say this about
transformation:
it's a whole new different world. Yes you could. You really
could. And almost everyone who's ever
participated
in any of the plethora of iterations of
Werner's work
over these last four decades would agree with you. So would I. But to
be clear, my qualified agreement is this: yes, while
saying it that way is
good enough for
jazz,
in fact a closer look reveals two thirds of it isn't really true at all
-
rigorously
speaking, that is.
The world of
transformation
is "whole" (as in full, unfractured, complete)? Yes that's
true. The world of
transformation
is "new"? No that's not true. The world of
transformation
is "different"? Also not true. So before I say
transformation
is a whole new different world in the
good enough for jazz
sense (which I'll do in just a moment), let's first address why "new"
and "different" aren't really
rigorous
enough adjectives to be appropriate descriptors for
transformation.
It's not a new world. The world has always been this way.
It's been turning out this way for millennia. Indeed you could say the
world looks new through your
transformed
eyes ... but it's not really new. The problem I have with saying the
world is new after
transformation
is this: it abdicates responsibility for
creatingtransformation.
If there's one sure fire way of dampening
transformation,
it's to not take responsibility for
creating
it. It's not the world after
transformation
which is new. What's new after
transformation
is you ...
creating
a new
context
for all things (a new
context
for the world, in particular) ie
creatingtransformation.
You could say the world indeed
shows up
newly in this new
context.
But it isn't the world which is new. Really it isn't. The
world has always been this way. It's the
context
which is new. And you're the
creator
of this
context.
As for different,
Werner states it eloquently:
it's not different - it's the same.
Transformation
doesn't make the world different. Rather (and this is key) it brings
forth the possibility of the world being the same (the
world being the same, means the world being just the way it is and just
the way it isn't).
Transformation
doesn't change the world - it never has, and it never will. What
transformation
does is
recontextualize
(I
love
that
word)
the world, which in turn allows a new realm of possibility for the
future of the world, to emerge. At the risk of over belaboring this
point, notice this new realm of possibility doesn't change the
world. By definition, change makes something from something. A new
realm of possibility, on the other hand, makes something from
nothing.
So with all that clarified, I can now say (again): after
transformation,
it's a whole new different world (and yes, saying it that way is
good enough for jazz).
I'm not waiting for the world to work out - it's already worked out.
I'm not waiting for someday to come - it's already come
(and gone). I'm not waiting for the right time to come - this is
it! I'm not waiting for someone or something to
show up
like a knight in shining armor, like a fairy godmother to
fix me, save me, and rescue me - they aren't coming.
What I'm saying isn't that I'm now fixed, saved, and rescued. No, it's
not that. Neither is what I'm saying better than that (or worse,
depending on how you listen me ...). What I'm saying is that
transformationrecontextualizes
what it is to be fixed, what it is to be saved, what it is to be
rescued. And
there's nothing to
fix,
there's nothing that needs saving, and there's nothing to be rescued
from. And by the way, neither is there anything to work out.
This is it! It's already worked out.
Now that's a whole new different world, yes? OK, you say: new and
different than what? For starters, new and different than
a world fractured and incomplete, than a world not yet worked out. New
and different than a world waiting for someday to come.
New and different than a world waiting for the right time to come. New
and different than a world waiting to be fixed, saved, and rescued.
That's
transformation.
It's a whole new different world.